If you want your phone to last 19 days on a single charge, you have to give up being smart

The wonderful phone world doesn't start and end with $2,000 flagships and their jaw-dropping cameras, bright displays, titanium alloys and powerful chipsets.

In light of overwhelming high-end devices like the newly announced Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra or Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone rumors, I think it's refreshing to take a look to the side.

And, what do you know, we have another phone newcomer: one that can last 19 days on a single charge.

Since many Samsung and Apple phones struggle to get a full day of use, you must know by now that we won't be dealing with a smartphone here. In order to get to that 19 days of use on a single charge, one has to give up certain things. Like, virtually everything that makes a smartphone "smart".

Nokia 123 Shield: easy as one, two, three

HMD has just introduced the ultra-affordable Nokia 123 Shield that is meant to do precisely what phones were created for – to connect you with other people.

Overall, the new Nokia 123 Shield (a 2G feature phone) looks like what you'd expect out of it, though it has a clever twist here and there. Like the slip-resistant texture on its side panels – this should make the grip really secure.

What's more, this little fella is rugged and designed to withstand water, sand and dust. There's even a cool rubber seal on its bottom that shields the charging and headphone ports from the elements. Hence the moniker "Shield".

HMD says the new phone is "optimized with a stronger and more reliable signal for clear calls and seamless connectivity compared to standard 2G feature phones", but keep in mind that 2G is out of the US and it's being phased out of many parts in the EU, too.

All about that battery

Besides its rugged design, battery life is clearly the phone's biggest selling point.

HMD says the removable 1,750mAh battery can deliver up to 19 days of standby time or nearly 28 hours of talk time.

When it's finally time to recharge, the Nokia 123 Shield uses a modern USB-C port instead of the old Micro-USB connector still found on some budget feature phones. That's a big plus, since the majority of gadgets support USB-C, too.

More goodies

Another practical addition is the built-in flashlight. According to HMD, it's up to three times brighter than the one on the Nokia 110, making it useful for finding your way in the dark or during a power outage. You also get a 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio that works with or without wired headphones, dual SIM support and a microSD card slot that accepts cards up to 32 GB.

Don't expect much in terms of multimedia, though. The Nokia 123 Shield features a small 2.4-inch QVGA display (320x240 px), a basic QVGA rear camera with an LED flash and just 4 MB of RAM and 4 MB of internal storage. It's powered by a Unisoc SC6531E chipset running the S30+ operating system, which is perfectly adequate for calling, texting and… that's about it.

It's not for everyone, obviously

This phone isn't trying to compete with smartphones or tempt anyone away from the latest Galaxy or iPhone. Instead, it targets people who simply want a dependable phone with exceptional battery life, physical buttons and very few distractions.

Just don't expect it to be a good travel companion in places where 2G networks have already disappeared or in countries that are in the process of shutting them down. For everyone else who still has access to GSM networks, this is about as simple as a phone gets.

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